Netherlands

In the Netherlands, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the vulnerable position of many migrant workers who were performing so-called ‘essential jobs’ (e.g., meat factories, distribution centers). EU mobile citizens had difficulty expressing safety concerns to employers, labour contracts were often ended abruptly and quarantine periods were regularly unpaid. Third-country nationals without legal residence (undocumented migrants) rarely had a safety net to fall back onto during the COVID-19 pandemic; they were dependent on the goodwill of actors like employers and landlords for their income and housing (de Lange et al., 2023).  In DignityFIRM we continue along this line of investigation and examine in which ways the conditions of migrant workers at work in the F2F sectors can be improved, this time focusing on agriculture (West-Land) and on hospitality sector, including food delivery work in the region Arnhem-Nijmegen (i.e. Eastern Netherlands).  The Netherlands has some 500,000 mobile EU citizens employed in, among others, its low-waged F2F labour markets and an estimated 75,000 irregularly staying migrants. Ukrainians received immediate access to the Dutch labour market as temporary displaced persons. It turns out they also work in F2F labour markets known for precarious labour relations, i.e. temp agency labour.